Hungary IBAN Format (HU) — Structure, Length & Validator

The Hungarian IBAN is the longest IBAN in Central Europe at 28 characters. Hungary's domestic account system uses dual check digits — one embedded mid-BBAN and one at the end — which are both preserved inside the IBAN structure. For anyone sending payments to Hungarian suppliers or employees, understanding the HU IBAN format prevents costly delays.

Hungarian IBAN at a Glance

• Country code: HU
• Total length: 28 characters (always)
• Format: HUkk bbbssss x cccccccccccccccc x
• BBAN length: 24 digits
• Currency: Hungarian forint (HUF)
• SEPA member: Yes (not eurozone)

Hungarian IBAN Structure Explained

A Hungarian IBAN encodes six components within its 28-character body:

1. Country Code — HU (2 characters)

The ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code for Hungary. Every Hungarian IBAN starts with HU.

2. Check Digits — kk (2 digits)

The standard IBAN check digits computed by the MOD-97 algorithm. These protect against transcription errors in the full 28-character string.

3. Bank Code — bbb (3 digits)

A 3-digit code identifying the bank, as assigned by the Hungarian National Bank (MNB). Common bank codes:

• 117 — OTP Bank
• 104 — K&H Bank
• 116 — UniCredit Bank Hungary
• 103 — Magyar Kereskedelmi Bank (MKB)

4. Branch Code — ssss (4 digits)

A 4-digit branch identifier within the bank. Together with the bank code, it uniquely identifies the branch where the account is held.

5. Domestic Check Digit — x (1 digit)

Hungary's domestic payment system includes a check digit after the branch code. This check digit is computed over the bank code and branch code using a national algorithm separate from MOD-97. It appears at position 10 of the BBAN.

6. Account Number — cccccccccccccccc (16 digits)

The 16-digit account number identifying the individual account at the branch.

7. Account Check Digit — x (1 digit)

A second domestic check digit at the very end of the BBAN, computed over the account number. This makes Hungary unusual among IBAN countries in having two embedded national check digits in addition to the two standard IBAN check digits.

Real Hungarian IBAN Example

HU42 1177 3016 1111 1018 0000 0000

• Country: HU
• Check digits: 42
• Bank code: 117 (OTP Bank)
• Branch code: 7301
• Domestic check digit: 6
• Account number: 1111101800000000
• Account check digit: 0

Electronic format: HU42117730161111101800000000

How Hungarian IBAN Validation Works

1. Country code: First two characters must be HU.
2. Length: Exactly 28 characters after removing spaces.
3. Character types: All characters after HU are decimal digits — no letters appear in a Hungarian IBAN after the country code.
4. MOD-97: Rearrange, convert, and compute modulo 97. Result must be 1.

The ibanchecker.cash validator runs all checks instantly and decodes the bank code, branch code, and both domestic check digits for any Hungarian IBAN.

Hungary and SEPA

Hungary is a SEPA member but retains the Hungarian forint (HUF) — it is not part of the eurozone. SEPA Credit Transfers to Hungarian accounts are possible, but currency conversion applies. For transfers outside the SEPA zone, the BIC/SWIFT code is required alongside the IBAN. Find any Hungarian bank's BIC with the ibanchecker.cash SWIFT directory.

Common Hungarian IBAN Mistakes

Submitting a 24-digit Domestic Account Number Directly

Hungarian domestic bank accounts are displayed as a 24-digit string (e.g., 11773016-11111018-00000000). This format cannot be used for SEPA or international payments — you must prepend HU and the two IBAN check digits to produce the full 28-character IBAN.

Length Confusion with Czech IBANs

Czech IBANs are 24 characters and Hungarian IBANs are 28 characters. Both are numeric after the country code. A system that validates Hungarian IBANs to a 24-character maximum will incorrectly reject all valid Hungarian IBANs.

Validating Hungarian IBANs in Bulk

Businesses paying Hungarian contractors or managing multi-country payroll can validate batches of IBANs instantly with the ibanchecker.cash bulk checker. Upload up to 100 IBANs in a CSV and receive bank name, BIC, and error details for each entry.

Last updated: June 2026